SAN FRANCISCO — The Celtics may or may not make a deal before Thursday’s trade deadline, but they have already benefited from the process. While they were en route to the Bay Area, the Warriors pulled off a five-player trade that cost them Monta Ellis, Kwame Brown and Ekpe Udoh to Mliwaukee for Andrew Bogut and Stephen Jackson.

The move subtracts Golden State’s leading scorer in Ellis and a plus-minus monster in Udoh. It didn’t stop the Warriors from hammering the Kings by 26 points on Tuesday night but with Ellis gone and Steph Curry out with a sprained ankle, they started old friend Nate Robinson and rookie Klay Thompson in the backcourt. Golden State also started David Lee and Andris Biedrinis, but without Udoh their frontcourt depth is even thinner than the Celtics.

Bogut is out with a sprained ankle, but when healthy he could become the kind of interior defensive presence the Warriors have sought for years. As SI’s Zach Lowe points out, they made a run at Tyson Chandlerand DeAndre Jordan this past offseason before settling on Brown. Jackson is a complete wild card in more ways that one, but regardless, neither player should be on the floor for Golden State on Wednesday. (In a nice twist, the Bucks visit Golden State on Friday).

The move impacts the Celtics in another way as they will be in Milwaukee on Thursday. The Bucks have moved into a tie with the Knicks for the 8th playoff spot in the East and it will be interesting to see how the Brandon Jennings-Ellis backcourt meshes.

Golden State has agreed to a deal that would send guard Monta Ellis and two players to Milwaukee for center Andrew Bogut and Stephen Jackson, according to Yahoo! Sports. According to multiple reports, the Bucks also will receive forward Ekpe Udoh and center Kwame Brown.

The 27-year-old Bogut, who was the first overall pick of Milwaukee in the 2005 draft, has been dogged by injury over the course of his career. He’s averaged 12.7 points and 9.3 rebounds in his seven years in the NBA. The 33-year-old Jackson — a fan favorite in the Bay Area when he played with the Warriors from January 2007 until November 2009 — also brings a jolt of offense to Golden State, as he’s averaged 16.1 points per game since he arrived in the league in 2000.

Ellis, in his seventh year in the league, has career averages of 19.6 points and 4.4 assists.

The Celtics will get their opportunity to see the new-look Warriors right out of the gate — Boston will face Golden State Wednesday in the Bay Area.

Ray Allen could only imagine what Warriors fans were thinking when he was unconscious in the first half, drilling all four 3-point attempts on his was to 20 points and a 64-53 Celtics lead at the break.

‘Well, I think I’m the one guy that you look up and ask yourself, ‘How did he get so wide open in the corner?’ I think that everybody is thinking that ‘ everybody in the Bay Area is thinking that early in the game,” said Allen, who finished with 27 in Boston’s 107-103 win over those defenseless Warriors.

“You don’t really look at Paul [Pierce] and he’s wide open, and Jeff [Green] was wide open several times, Nenad [Krstic] was open a couple times; when Rondo get to the basket, I think that’s as the result of all the guys on the floor and the plays that we run.”

Good thing Allen’s sore right knee healed in time so he could play. But ice and a stat sheet that shows that Golden State is 28th of 30 NBA teams in points allowed can make you healthy in a hurry.

‘He shoots the ball pretty well most days,” coach Doc Rivers said. “He’s just an amazing shooter, he really is. And what’s more amazing is how many times he’s wide open. It’s just remarkable when you think about it, the Reggie Millers, I’ve been on teams where before the game the coach is, ‘Do not give this guy an open shot’ and you turn around and he’s standing there all by himself. It’s just amazing how they find the open spots.’

“You just make sure you run, make a sharp cut, stay spaced, and if a team has to double, you know that someone has to be open,” Allen explained.

But you get open with great defense. And when Monta Ellis wasn’t lighting up the Celtics as part of a 41-point night [matching Kobe Bryant for most by an opponent this year], the Celtics were playing enough defensive to allow them to get out in transition.

“The defensive end is really where it starts because when we get stops like that and we force them to miss, and then I’m gone. I don’t even wait, I just get to the corner. They have to get to the paint, and Rondo, he knows where I’m at so I just have to make sure that I’m ready.’

As for that bothersome knee, he wasn’t out on a driving range on Thursday but rather just resting. “Driving range? Who said that?”

Informed it was his coach, Allen replied, “And where am I going to hit golf balls at?”

He then turned slightly more serious when asked just how sore were his legs to require a day off from practice.

“My knee was bothering me a little bit. I just had a little bit of soreness in there that I worked through over the last day and a half,” Allen said. “Coming in this morning, it felt similar and I was kind of taking it hour-by-hour and seeing how it felt when I got down here and when I got down here, it felt better.

“This morning I just came in and got treatment and just try to play it by ear. That’s why I have a suit on in case I was on the bench. I honestly thought when I came down here, there might be a chance but I came down here as usual to be ready to play. It’s hard from one day to the next and then the day before say, ‘I’m not playing tomorrow’ because you feel a little soreness. You have to get in there and really put your body to the test and get it better. I got treatment and ice and by the time I got down here, I shot and felt a lot better and here I am.”

When Celtics President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge called a meeting with Allen, the veteran was appreciative of the organization’s efforts to keep him in the loop with the trading deadline approaching.

Even though Allen had disciplined himself to ignore the rumors, they are hard to avoid when an expiring contract has made him the focal point of rumors floating around the NBA circuit. The most talked-about report had Golden State interested in sending Monta Ellis to Boston in exchange for Allen.

Because of this, Ainge wanted to clear the air. He met with Allen and his family for half-an-hour at the Celtics training facility on Tuesday in Waltham.

‘We talked yesterday and he just wanted me to know that he hasn’t done anything or tried anything to seek out a trade,’ Allen told WEEI.com prior to Wednesday’s Celtics-Heat game. ‘He just, based off of what he feels that we’ve done for the organization on and off the floor, he was like I just owe it to you so that you know there’s nothing that’s been done on my behalf. It’s just teams inquiring, natural NBA business.’

[Click here to hear what Ray Allen said about all of the rumors swirling and his meeting with Ainge.]

Ainge reiterated to WEEI’s Big Show on Wednesday that he has not had any conversations regarding a trade that would move Allen. He felt it was unlikely that the Celtics would find a deal that would help them with a title both this season and in the future. Their priority, Ainge said, is winning now.

And besides, they like having Allen on the court.

‘We want Ray,’ Ainge said. ‘We think Ray is a huge part of our winning a championship this year.’

Allen does not doubt the Celtics appreciation of his game and contributions to the Boston community. In addition to his Ray of Hope Foundation, the Allens became heavily involved with the Joslin Diabetes Center after their son Walker was diagnosed in 2008.

At the same time, there is a reality of the game. While Ainge said the Celtics have not actively sought out a trade nor have they been ‘anywhere near or had any discussion,’ that does not mean they wouldn’t entertain talks either.

After 14 years in the league, Allen understands how it works.

‘I really understand that this is a business and I got traded when I was the least one to be traded when I was in Milwaukee. So anything can happen. Anything can happen,’ Allen said. ‘There’s nobody that’s really untouchable in this league, so I appreciated his candidness, letting me know and letting my wife know, and my boys were in the office running around. You always hate to see people do business behind your back and kind of not keep you alert, so it just spoke volumes of who he is and as a GM doing his job.

‘But, you know, he still could. I don’t know. It depends on what is thrown out there. So it’s not that I worry about it. It’s a business. My job still has to be done the same.’